My Favorites (Jazz): “Pure Imagination” Claudia Acuna

When a piano player buddy of mine said he was coming to town
he invited me to come to one of his performances at the Kennedy Center.He said he was playing with a vocalist and he
gave me a comp ticket to come check out the show.I tiptoed into the concert hall as the show
had already started and I sat and listened to a gorgeous rich voice sing some
new and fresh interpretations of old classics as well as some of her
originals.I knew the piano playing was
already going to be good because I went to high school with Jason Linder and he
already had skills back then.That’s why
I had him play on my audition tape to college.

The vocalist I experienced that night was Chilean born Claudia
Acuna.Maybe it was the time in my life
where I had just recently gone through a relationship break up and her music spoke
to that part of me, or maybe it was inventiveness of the arrangements that
captivated me, either way I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and wanted to
hear more.I went out and bought a
couple of her CDs to see if there were some more gems to be heard.I was not disappointed.Her collection of CDs have some enjoyable
renditions of pieces from the jazz canon and some that are outside of the
typical jazz repertoire.My favorite
pieces are definitely her version of Djavan’s “Oceano” and her interpretation
of the classic song from Willy Wonka and
the Chocolate Factory, “Pure Imagination.”

My dad used to play that song on the piano when I was
growing up.I have fond memories of
hearing that song as a child when times were simpler (at least for me they
were).Ms. Acuna’s version begins in what
is technically 4/4 time but feels like a kind of 8/8 the way the phrase is
structured.The bridge section is in 6/8
and has an interlude section that follows and picks up the bridge again before
going to the “A” section one more time then vamping out at the end.

The rhythm section moves well together and sounds like a
cohesive unit.When one person fills in
between phrases the other musicians create space and don’t step on each
other.I especially like the space
created between the drums and the bass.The bass player is not walking on all four (or eight) beats and the
drummer uses his cymbals to help add color.There is a clear team effort in this ensemble and Ms. Acuna floats above
the music with ease and brings a quiet fire to the rendition with her
expressive accents and dynamic subtle moments.

Aside from the musicality of this recording I’ve always
loved the lyrics that put you back in touch with your own childhood innocence
and wonder: “Come with me and you’ll be
in a world of pure imagination, take a look and you’ll see into your imagination…”
“If you want to view paradise simply look around and view it, anything you want
to, do it… want to change the world there’s nothing to it.”

A truly wonderful recording and I must say this song has
consistently been in my playlist for a while now.Give it a listen, you will not be
disappointed.

Pages

Dr.William E. Smith (W.E.S.) is an active
musician, producer, composer, author and educator who has released four albums
with his group, The W.E.S. Group, and has produced and recorded music for many
notable artists. He is a published author (Hip Hop as Performance and Ritual and How to Be an MC – CLS Publications,) and is the online ethnomusicology program coordinator at North Carolina
Central University.He also teaches
classes at Howard University.Prior to
that, he was an assistant professor of music and the jazz ensemble director at
American University in Washington, DC.

Aside from performing at
many jazz festivals and events in Anguilla, Bonaire, St. Lucia, California, New
York, United Kingdom, Morocco, India, and South Africa, Dr. Smith is an avid
composer.He has written music for TV
and film and has composed music for multimedia performances such as theater
performances and fashion shows.